Wind-turbine.



` YJ. G. CHILDS. WIND TURBINB.

APPLICATION-FILED FEBA, 1910.

' Patented July 5, 1910.

a Figfl Tm: NoRRls Persa: ca.. wAsHINaoN. n. c.

J. G. CHILDS.

WIND TURBINE.

` nruonrou FILED rmm, 1,910. 963,359. Patented July 5, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

| Figi?) S -Il i mimosa@ l y Invlnrof l l Z5 4 i g mmm@ 'omiten srArns rxr oie-rica JOSEPH GnRsHoM cHI'LDs, or WILLESDEN Gia-EEN', oivnon, ENGLAND.

wiND-TURBINE.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosEPI-I GERsHoM CHILDS, a subject of the Kin@ of Great Britain7 residing at I-Iawthorn tIoad, Willesden Green, in the county of London, England, electrical engineer, have invented new and useful Improvements in and Relating to- IVind-Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved device for controlling the position and operation of a wind turbine or windmill wheel with respect to the direction and velocity of the wind.

Hitherto, as is well known, vanes have been employed which could be rotated by hand or by wind pressure so as to have a different inclination to the plane of the wheel, and thus be caused to set it at a different angle to the wind. It has also been proposed to pivot to the main vane an auxiliary vane normally maintained at al particular angle to the main vane by a weight or spring, but capable of moving to a different inclination under the action of the wind upon itself or upon a third vane mounted on a horizontal pivot on the first vane and linked to the second. It has also been suggested that the blades of the wheel itself should be arranged to turn under the action of centrifugal force, but this arrangement is not good mechanically.

According to the present invention two or more separate vanes are provided, at least one of which is itself pivoted on a horizontal axis, so that the wind pressure upon it can serve directly both to controlthe position of the wheel and to control the inclination of the vane to the wind. It is obviously desirable that the horizontal axis should pass through the vane, for if the vane were mounted at the end of a long arm extending from the axis, a very large movement of the vane would be necessary to materially alter its inclination.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is an elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan of the head of a turbine to which a preferred form of the invention is applied; Fig. 3 is an elevation, and Fig. 4 a side View of a modified form of vane suitable for the purpose of the invention.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the turbine wheel a is supported upon its shaft b which is a little eccentric to the axis c about which the whole head turns. The apparatus Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 4, 1910.

serial No. 542,117. l ci I n p for controlling the turbine consists of three vanes cl, c, f supported on a frame which consists of three pairs of members g joined at their outer extremities by rods i. This frame is symmetrical with regard to the wheel a its outer members being about 140 degrees apart. The vanes d and f are supported on shafts 7c and m` which are revoluble in supports attached to the framing and are interconnected at their inner end through suitable gearing, c. g. two bevel toothed v segments n, o. As may be seen from the drawing the vanes are not attached symmetrically to the shaft, but the larger portion of the surface and of the weight is beneath the shaft in the case of vane cl, and above in the case of vane f. The vane c, on the contrary, is not revoluble but is rigidly and symmetrically attached to its frame members. To return the revoluble vanes to their vertical position, a weight g is provided as is indicated in connection with the vane f, which weight may be adjustable upon aV crank r secured to the shaft (in this case m) of the vane. Means are also preferably provided for rotating the shafts c and m from the bottom of the wind tower, c. g. the crank r or another on one of the shafts may be turned by means of a cord or rod extending downward from its end.

When all the vanes are hanging vertically the turbine wheel c will be set in the most effective position with regard to the wind so as to take full advantage of it. If t-he wind increases so that the wheel is able to give out more power than can be well absorbed by the machines to which it is connected, the vanes l and f will be turned by the wind pressure so as to tend to present their edge to the wind. As they are turned more and more the vane c will become to a greater and greater extent the sole controlling device; and the position of this vane is suoli that, acting alone, it will turn the wheel quite out of the wind. By this means the wheel will always set itself at such a position with regard to the wind as not to supply more than a given maximum of power, and so can be left to take care of itself even in the liercest gaies. The weight g provides a convenient means of adjustlng the degree to which the movable vanes turn for a given wind pressure, because it would be difficult to alter the position of the attachment of the vanes to their shafts. I/Vhen no power at all is wanted,

the wheel can be put completely `outoff kaction by hand, with the aidotthe crank and cord mentioned. v

The vanesd and e' are so designed that the wind pressure onthe one counterb'aln ances not only that on, the other, but also, the torque resulting Jfrom the eccentricl mounting of the wheel axle,where such r mounting is present, or the reaction of the vertical shaft tlfiroug'h which power is 'transmitted;y Y Y- In somevcases, particularly with motors built for large powers, it may be inconvenient ior impraticable to construct the Vanes in one piece, particularly the moving vanes. lIn ythat `case the.'c'finstruction illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 may be adopted, in

" which the vane consists of a frame s mountbe `pivotedV in the frame unsymmetrica-l-ly afterthe :fashion of the vanes d and f illustrated in'Figs. l and'12,and -for lcontrolling by hand their axes are provided with cranks /vl ljoinedby a common rod [fw and operated g through 'arcrank ona rod'y, which may Vsuitably pass through the center' of the shaft vor frameit. The advantage o-fthis construction-'is that a large wheel may be controlled by two comparatively -small vanes whichV protrude on each side ofthe wheel so as to e freely open to the wind wit-hout `influence from ychew-heel, without 4the necessity of 2p'ro- .,viding a long central tail as is usually done;

these two vanes would make an angle on veach side of about 20 degrees with `the plane of the wheel.,

What I claim is l. In a wind turbine the combination with theturbine head and turbine wheel, of a horizontalshat extendin from the turbine head approximately at right angles to the wheel, two supportsextending from the turbine vhead approximately symmetrical about the axis; of the wheel, `a horizontal shaft in one of said supports, vanes pi'voted o'n the two horizontal shafts, gearing connecting said horizontal shafts, yand a vane *fixed in the remaining support. n

2. In a wind turbine, the combination with the turbine head and turbine wheel, of a horizontal v'shait extending from the turbinev head approximately at right angles to the wheel, two `su-}`; Iports extending from the turbineV head ap )roxifr'nately symmetrical about the aXis of1 the wheel, a horizontal shaft in one of said supports, vanes pivoted on' the two horizontal shafts, gearing connecting said horizontal shafts, -a crank and balance Weight on one of said shafts, .and 'a vanefiXed in the remainin support.

In testimony whereof have signed my name 'to this specification in the presence of two subscribingavitnesses. n y ,A

, c JOSEPH GERSHOM CHILDS.

. Witnessesz` Y LEONARD E. HARPRES,

ID. JAMESON'. 

